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VMware Go Pro Cloud Service for Small Businesses

The platform includes a patch management solution aimed at securing virtual and physical infrastructure.

Virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions specialist VMware announced the general availability of Go Pro, a cloud service designed to enable small to medium-size businesses to consolidate, control and secure their physical and virtual IT infrastructure. Go Pro is available by subscription for $29.95 per admin/month, and the company said later this they expect to offer the service through their global network of channel partners.

Go Pro provides a single pane of glass for SMBs to manage both virtual and physical infrastructures and was developed in an extended partnership with Shavlik Technologies to leverage Shavlik's expertise in IT and patch management for SaaS and on-premise solutions. Features include an onramp to VMware vSphere, a Web browser interface and an intuitive wizard to guide users through the installation and setup of VMware vSphere Hypervisor.

"We are excited to extend our existing partnership with VMware, helping customers simplify their IT management," said Mark Shavlik, president and CEO of Shavlik Technologies. "VMware Go Pro leverages our SAAS solutions to enable customers to break down barriers they may face when adopting complex technologies."

In addition, the platform includes a patch management solution specifically designed for SMBs, aimed at securing virtual and physical infrastructure, the ability to scan physical and virtual machines for software titles so IT professionals know what exists and is in use in their environment, the ability to track what machines exist, as well as their configuration, cost and service history as well as create and manage tickets as well as know their due date, priority, and status. A company release noted IT professionals could also analyze past ticket reports to better understand trends and IT workload.

Further reading

"With VMware Go Pro, we will bring ease-of-use to IT infrastructure management for SMBs with affordable patch management, help desk, hardware asset management, and software license management," said Manoj Jayadevan, director of emerging business and products for VMware.

Businesses can also leverage the configuration of an existing physical server using the built in VMware P2V Converter tool, simplify software deployment by installing a pre-packaged virtual appliance, migrate existing VMware Server VMs to the more scalable ESXi platform and scan physical and virtual machines for missing patches for Microsoft OS and Microsoft applications as well as other software application vendors such as Adobe.

Jayadevan said as the number of applications and devices in the typical business rises, tracking and managing software licensing and usage can become challenging, and Go Pro can help customers maintain control of their software inventory. Features include the ability to view software titles sorted by publisher, and view past scan results if desired, scan physical and virtual machines for software titles and create software license descriptions which include the number of licenses, license key, and expiration date and then assign them to Software Titles to track usage and ensure compliance.